On Tuesday (June 23), the organizers of KM Chart Awards (KMA) officially confirmed that actors Kang Tae Oh and Won Ji An will be hosting this year’s KMAs.
For Tae-oh, this opportunity will mark his first time hosting an awards ceremony after making his debut in the world of K-Pop. The actor has made his acting breakthrough with his performances in Moon River and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.
Meanwhile, fans are eagerly waiting to see Ji-an, who gained instant global recognition through Squid Game on Netflix, in a bright, energetic mood for a change, since her on-screen characters often take up a calm and composed persona.
Here are more details about the upcoming award show’s dates, venue, and performance lineups:
The performance lineup at the KM Chart Awards was announced in two parts
First things first: The KM Chart Awards event will be hosted at the Korea University Hwajeong Tiger Dome in Seoul, South Korea, on July 25.
The performance lineup for the KMAs was announced in two parts. The first lineup dropped on May 11, with these bands making the cut:
- Tomorrow X Together
- 82MAJOR
- VVUP
- LNGSHOT
- KickFlip
- CORTIS
- Allday Project
A week later, the KMAs organizers revealed their second lineup with eight more performances from:
- Hearts2Hearts
- ALPHA DRIVE ONE
- MODYSSEY
- NEWBEAT
- UNIS
- Hi-Fi Un!corn
- ZEROBASEONE
- P1Harmony
According to Star News Korea, only songs released from last year through April 30, 2026, are eligible to compete for the KM Chart Awards. Here are the categories across which the awards will be distributed next month:
- Best Popular Song Award
- Best Popular Solo Male Artist Award
- Best Popular Solo Female Artist Award
- Best Popular Male Group Award
- Best Popular Female Group Award
- Best Popular Trot Award
- Global Rising Star Award
Melon Music Awards 2026: date, venue & themes explored
While the KM Chart Awards will be held next month, another music award ceremony that K-Pop fans await every year has announced its dates for November – the Melon Music Awards (MMA).
An award show that was launched as an online event in 2005, and started taking place live four years later, the Melon Music Awards will be held on November 14 and 15 this year, marking the first time it will be held over two days.
Organizers behind the MMAs claim that their intention with this expanded format is to make it the largest K-pop festival.
Held at the Gochoek Sky Dome in Seoul, the theme of this year’s MMAs is “connect,” with the slogan reading:
“K-POP CONNECT: The New Pulse”
More details about the annual festivals are expected to be announced soon.
Edited by Akanksha Mishra